Job 27:1 - Meaning and Application

Job’s speech here is called a parable, or proverb, because it was serious, weighty, and full of instruction. It came from a word that can mean to rule or have dominion, and some think that means Job now spoke as one who had prevailed over his opponents. We might say that he knew how to command the attention of his hearers. After a long dispute between Job and his friends, Job now confirmed all he had said about his own innocence with a solemn oath. He did this to end the argument, silence objections, and take the blame on himself if he had spoken falsely.

Notice first the form of his oath: “As God lives, who has taken away my judgment” (Job 27:2). In this, Job speaks well of God by calling him the living God, the ever-living and eternal One who has life in himself. He also appeals to God as the only and highest Judge. No one greater can be sworn by, and it dishonors God to swear by anyone else. Yet Job also speaks wrongly when he says God had taken away his judgment, meaning that God had not yet done him justice in this dispute and had not come forward to defend him.

Job also said that God had vexed his soul. He meant that God had not only failed to appear for him, but seemed to be against him by laying such heavy trouble on him. Elihu later corrected Job for this word (Job 34:5), because God is righteous in all his ways and never takes away a person’s justice. Still, Job’s words show how quickly we can grow discouraged when help does not come right away. We become weary of waiting for God’s time. Even so, Job trusted that his cause was good and that God was good, so though God seemed angry with him for the moment, Job still committed his case to him.

Second, consider the matter of his oath (Job 27:3-4). Job said he would not speak wickedness or utter deceit. In general, he would not allow himself to lie. In this debate, he had spoken as he truly thought, and he would not wound his conscience by speaking otherwise. He would not teach any doctrine or claim any fact unless he believed it to be true. Nor would he deny the truth, even if it made things harder for him. His friends called him a hypocrite, but he was ready to answer under oath if needed.

On the one hand, if he really were guilty, he would not deny it for anything. He would confess the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, and bear the shame of hypocrisy. On the other hand, since he knew he was sincere, he would not betray his integrity or accuse himself falsely. He would not be forced, even by their harsh and unfair criticism, to speak against himself. If we must not bear false witness against our neighbor, then we must not do so against ourselves either.

Job also said he would hold to this resolution as long as he lived, “all the while my breath is in me” (Job 27:3). Our resolve against sin should be steady for life. In doubtful matters, we should not be so rigid, since God may yet show us more light. But in something so plain as refusing lies and deceit, we cannot be too firm. Job’s words also remind us that our breath will not always stay in us. Since we must soon breathe our last, we should not use the breath God gives us for wickedness. While we still breathe, we must not say or do anything that will rise up against us when our breath is gone.

Job’s breath is called the breath of God, because God gave it to him. That is another reason not to speak wickedly. God gives us life and breath, so while we have breath, we should praise him. This thought leads into the meaning of Job’s oath in Job 27:5-6. He says, in effect, “God forbid that I should agree with your unfair judgment of me by calling myself a hypocrite. No, until I die I will not let go of my integrity.” He would always remain an honest man. He would not curse God, as Satan urged him to do through his wife (Job 2:9). Job was already thinking about death and preparing for it, so he resolved not to let go of his faith, even though he had lost everything in the world. The best preparation for death is to keep faithful until death.

When Job says, “Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him,” that same spirit is here in view. Even if this affliction should bring him to death, he would not turn against God or lose confidence in his religion. He also means that he would always stand by the truth that he was an honest man. He would not give up the peace, comfort, or good name that came from his integrity. He knew God knew his heart, and his own heart knew that he had always meant well. He was not careless about known duties, and he had not deliberately gone on in known sin. This, he says, is his joy, and no one will take it from him. He will never tell lies against himself.

It has often been the lot of upright people to be judged and condemned as hypocrites. Yet it is fitting for them to stand firm against such accusations, not letting them discourage them or make them think worse of themselves. As the apostle says, “We have a good conscience in all things, willing to live honestly” (Hebrews 13:18). Let this be your strong defense, to keep a clear conscience. Job had often complained about the insults of his friends, but he says that his own heart will not reproach him. That is, he will not give his heart reason to accuse him. He will keep a conscience free from offense, and while he does so, he will not let his heart condemn him.

Who can bring anything against God’s chosen people? It is God who justifies, that is, declares them right. To decide that our hearts must not reproach us even when we have given them cause to do so is to insult God, whose messenger conscience is, and to harm ourselves. It is a good thing, after a person has sinned, to have an inward heart that smites him for it (2 Samuel 24:10).

To resolve, then, that our hearts will not condemn us while we still hold fast our integrity is to defeat the evil spirit’s schemes. He tempts sincere Christians to doubt their adoption, saying in effect, “If you are the Son of God.” At the same time, it agrees with the work of the Holy Spirit, who bears witness to their adoption.